Bagatti-Valsecchi building
Palazzo Bagatti Valsecchi, prestigious late 19th century residence of the two Bagatti Valsecchi brothers, in the heart of Milan, became a fascinating house museum in 1994. It is one of the most important and best kept museums of its kind in Europe. In via Santo Spirito, at street numbers 10 and 7 stand two great town houses facing each other, fruit of an architectural project realized by two lawyers and art collectors Fausto and Giuseppe Bagatti Valsecchi at the end of the nineteenth-century. The second building (at street number 7), inaugurated in 1875 was designed in a style reminiscent of Bramante. The first (at street number 10),which is open to the public, faithfully reproduces a style representative of the height of sixteenth century Lombard construction and interior decorations in perfect harmony.Fausto and Giuseppe were followers of ideals typical of the centuries covering the Renaissance period, considered by many a golden age for art and creativity. They dedicated their abilities and studies to recreating an elegant, courtly mid-sixteenth century residence. It should not be considered a museum but an abode incorporating aspects of a Renaissance domestic existence in which collections of antiques could be perfectly integrated into the architectural and decorative structure. Extremely accurate renovation work over a twenty year period restored the palazzo to its original splendour. "Casa Bagatti Valsecchi" is now a Museum open to the public since November 1994. In its seventeen rooms (salons, galleries, bedrooms, dining room, drawing rooms, studio, and even a bathroom reproduced in the style of the epoch that the Bagatti-Valsecchi brothers found so fascinating. The mansion recreated a harmonious way of life blending culture, wealth, ability to formulate projects, appreciation of beauty and great respect for the work of craftsmen.
Nowadays the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum represents an important point of contact for those who wish to study the history of the nineteenth century in depth by means of this most interesting testimony of the mentality and zest for creating collections typical of that age. In this exact historical framework there was scope for a very rich collection of paintings from the 15th and 16th centuries, furniture, objects, ceramics, glass, ivory, arms and suits of armour, tapestries, wallpaper, upholstery, musical instruments, articles in leather, watches, kitchen utensils and weighing and measuring implements from the past gathered together by the Bagatti Valsecchi brothers in a lifetime dedicated to the study of the Lombard Renaissance. Intense cultural activity is a distinguishing feature of the Bagatti Valsecchi Museum. The Museum promotes important conventions on nineteenth century culture, organizes seminars aimed at academic experts and courses for the general public to create a better understanding of this historical period. It hosts exhibitions of rare objects and holds seminars on restoration work in the field of decorative arts.
